There's gold in them thar pills...

"The research machine generates lots of intellectual property, which ultimately become products," says Tony Ryan, ICI Professor of Physical Chemistry at Sheffield University. As universities come to view knowledge as a product, the hallowed halls of academe are becoming increasingly business-like in their approach to funding. Professor Ryan is at the top of the research tree. This year, he will be giving the Royal Institution's series of Christmas lectures, to be broadcast on Channel 4. His research on polymers, the plastic substances which make shampoo thick and cause food to take on a particular texture in one's mouth, has clear advantages for big businesses who sponsor research in the hope of finding a wonder substance to improve their products.

However, the lion's share of academic research is still funded by the Government through its research councils. These are about to receive a cash injection to help Britain capitalise on the brilliant researchers it has produced – many of whom might otherwise be lured by the promise of sumptuous grants and gleaming campuses on the other side of the Atlantic.

Phil Sooben, Chair of the Cross-Research Council Training Group, says the spur was Sir Gareth Robert's review of scientific research and development, published in April this year. It proposed that Britain needed to spend more on scientific research to keep up with countries such as the US and Japan. The Government's response was July's Spending Review: Investing in Innovation, which aims to boost spending on science and technology skills by £100m per year by 2006, and to raise the average impoverished PhD student's annual funding to £13,000. This shows some recognition of the market value of intellectual property.

It's not just the Government that is applying business ideas to research: individual researchers need to, too. Funding from research councils is subject to great competition, so researchers are forced to present their ideas concisely, explaining why the research needs to be done and how they will use their resources. Even if this hurdle is passed, Professor Ryan advises prudent science researchers to arrange various sources of funding ("in case one dries up") and build networks with others working in a similar field to share knowledge. "There will always be a niche for gifted researchers who work on their own. But it's a risk, so you have to be sure it's worth taking."

In terms of how knowledge might be turned into profit, the benefits of scientific research are fairly obvious. The drug Viagra, developed in Britain by the US company Pfizer, is the most spectacular recent example. Following on are seatbelts designed for pregnant women, a project that Dr Serpil Acar, at Loughborough University, is working on with the help of companies such as Ford and Nissan, supported by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council. There may also be social benefits from research. David Clark, Director of Research and Innovation at the Economic and Social Research Council, points to the ESRC's current initiative offering funds for research into personal security and crime prevention.

The idea that research is saleable can also apply to the arts. Nearly a quarter of all researchers are in arts and humanities, but the Arts and Humanities Research Board was only established in October 1998. This reflects the Government's recognition of the contribution to the British economy made by creative industries such as fashion, music and art. This year, the AHRB is finally poised to become a full research council, which will put research in the arts on a more equal footing with the sciences.

Three-year fellowships in creative and performing arts are one way in which the AHRB has been supporting those snapping at the heels of Damien Hirst and Vivienne Westwood. Academic research in these fields is relatively new, but the researchers still have to set out their projects in the same structured way as science researchers do. Dan Shipway, whose doctoral research is supported by the AHRB at Ulster University, produces five or six exhibitions of his work each year. He recreates rock-climbing routes in art galleries, with scaffolding to allow viewers to clamber up them. For Dan, the cultural contribution of his research is as much in the methodology as the final product. It goes to prove that research has many faces – including rock faces.

education@independent.co.uk